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iPhone Freed From AT&T, Twice

Posted by kdawson on from the everything-but-the-visual-voicemail dept.

A very large number of readers sent in stories about one or the other of the two new claims to have unlocked the iPhone for use on other GSM carriers. A New Jersey teenager, George Hotz, posted instructions for unlocking the iPhone using a soldering gun and a lot of patience. This is from coverage in a local NJ paper: "If someone handed him an iPhone new out of the box, he could modify it in 'about an hour,' he said. A person following his directions might take 'a good 12 hours,' the teen estimated." Hotz has put up a YouTube video substantiating his claim, and is conducting an eBay auction for one of his two hacked phones. The other hack is by a commercial outfit called iPhoneSIMfree.com, whose claim Engadget has verified. The company will be selling licenses to the hack, minimum quantity 500, at a price not yet announced. These hacks are much bigger news for those outside America. Expect to see an industry spring up to meet European (and Asian?) demand for freed iPhones.

6 of 357 comments (clear)

  1. Limited in its usefulness.... by tgatliff · · Score: 3, Informative

    Its great to know that they have figured out the JTag interface, but I question how useful any of this is. Meaning, even if you can make/take calls on all the networks, the visual voicemail and SMS would still be non functioning due to software needed on the AT&T network. The SMS probably can be easily fixed by using a different application, but the visual voicemail would definitely be more difficult to get around.

  2. Re:Implications by adam613 · · Score: 4, Informative

    AT&T most likely has a basis for a lawsuit, but that basis has nothing to do with the Apple-exclusivity contract, since people who hack the phone aren't parties to that contract. The lawsuit would more likely be based on violation of license terms prohibiting the defeat of whatever protection mechanisms are keeping the iPhone locked. And I have no idea whether this would hold up in Europe, where this hack is actually useful.

  3. Re:More Like.... by OmegaBlac · · Score: 4, Informative

    Apple doesn't lose out of this, so I can't see them rushing to redesign the hardware or software.
    Doesn't Apple get a share of revenue from each AT&T contract? I would expect them to respond to this asap.
    http://www.mobile-tech-today.com/story.xhtml?story _title=Analyst__Apple_Gets_Healthy_Share_of_AT_T_C ontracts&story_id=102008J3T13I
    http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/07/07/19/anal yst_weighs_in_on_apples_rev_share_arrangement_with _att.html
  4. CNBC Coverage by DaveAtFraud · · Score: 3, Informative

    The kid got an interview on CNBC. Not quite fifteen minutes of fame but at least a couple. He also managed to get in a plug for "information wants to be free" and to note that what he did is explicitly legal.

    Cheers,
    Dave

    --
    They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither safety nor liberty.
    Ben
  5. Re:Do you smell that? by DrinkDr.Pepper · · Score: 3, Informative

    I don't know about Epson, but Lexmark didn't get away with it.

    --
    0xfeedface
  6. Re:Calling all Lawyers by fangorious · · Score: 3, Informative

    The Library of Congress ruled that handsets are not covered by the DMCA.